Team photo appears to show 1950 Houston Buffs

BCH reader Leonard Meinke recently provided the blog this photo that once belonged to his late uncle. After a little digging, it appears what we have here is the 1950 Houston Buffs (or Buffaloes).

According to Baseball-reference.com, this team didn’t exactly set the Texas League on fire, posting a 61-93 record and finishing dead last, 30 1/2 games behind first-place Beaumont.

(The San Antonio Missions would go on to win the Texas League championship and later the Dixie Series title that year. As for Houston, success would come in 1951 as the team finished first and took the Texas League title.)

25 Responses

This was taken during mid-summer of 1950. It was a promotional idea to have the team wear shorts. Allen Russell, the team president, was behind this idea. He stated that it might also attract more women to the games. Not surprisingly, the team hated it, and the idea was dropped after the attendance spike subsided.

You made me dig out some of my old programs from Buffalo Stadium. They were called “scorecards”.

Had five from 1954, one from 1955, one from 1956 and one from 1957. Should have kept more of them. In earlier years, I joined the knot-hole gang for a quarter and we were seated in the left field bleachers so I didn’t get a scorecard. I still remember many of the players names from the late 40’s and the 1950’s. Patrick was still pitching for the team in 1954 and at the time my scorecard was printed, he had a 9-2 record. They didn’t print the first names of players in the scorecard until the 1957. Many many memories of my childhood and teen years at the ball park. Thanks.

I seem to remember seeing lots of Buffs pictures, uniforms ect. at the Finger’s store on the Gulf Freeway. At least, I think that is where I saw it. Is that stuff still there? There was quite a bit of it. Houston seems to have many museums devoted to specialized topics such as the Printing Museum, Medical Museum, Funeral Museum. Is there a Houston Sports Museum?

The Buff Stadium home plate location is memorialized (kind of) in the Fingers baseball museum. I used to love going to Fingers with my parents just so that I could spend the afternoon looking at all the baseball history there.

Those were the days! Adults $5.50, kids $4.00. My first visit was in 1977, and that was the price we paid. I remember six years later getting in for $4.00 at night when I brought an empty Coke can. Those were great times.

What a welcome change from closing day in 2005. My wife and I went for one last visit. $42.99 per person plus we paid $30 to park (football game that day). I miss the OLD Astroworld.

Buff Stadium, reminds me of a lot of ballparks of that era. Back when baseball fans came out to watch no matter what the weather.

J.R. I heard that Ford Motor Company used to have a car assembly plant where the former Maxwell House Coffee is.

Is that true? I’d never thought we’d have an auto assembly plant in or near Houston.

Posted by: Joaquin at January 27, 2011 07:47 AM

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I just read the story on that about a year ago because my dad used to work there for a short time. Maxwell House bought the old Ford plant on Harrisburg and moved there from somewhere else around here. They made the model T there I think but only for a short time. It might have been trucks. I can’t recall much more right now but yes it was a Ford plant. Maybe J.R. can expand on it more.

Ed C: I once worked for General Foods. You are correct in that the Harrisburg plant was a Ford assembly plant at one time.

Maxwell House bought the former Cheek-Neal (sp???) company. For years MH, (along with Yuban, Sanka, Maximum, & Max-Pax) was part of General Foods. GF was bought by Kraft around 25 or so years ago. In 2006, Kraft sold the plant to the Maximus Coffee Group LP. They roast and grind Maxwell House’s coffee (to Kraft’s specs.) in this market. They also produce the coffee for McDonalds as well as their own lines of coffee.

I’m all for controlling polution, including air pollution, but I really miss the smell of Houston’s coffee plants and bread bakers. Do you think those aromas actually hurt anyone? Well maybe they caused some of us to overeat.

Just found you and your blog. My Dad and I attended a game at Buff Stadium back in 1947, enjoyed the game but can’t recall who the Buffs played that day. We usually would listen to the games on the radio, so I recall being very excited about actually going to a game! On the list of names, Mel’s last name was McGaha. (I think this is the spelling, I do know that